


Fake Christmas

by hisaribi



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alive Hale Family, Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe- No Supernatural, Ambiguous/Open Ending, Asexual Stiles Stilinski, Christmas, Christmas Eve, Christmas With Family, Don't copy to another site, F/M, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Family Issues, Gen, Hale Family Feels, I can't write romance and fluff, Jackson Whittemore is a Hale, Liam Dunbar is a Hale, M/M, Malia Tate is a Hale, Minor Original Character(s), Orthodox Stiles, Peter Hale Being an Asshole, Stiles Stilinski Being an Asshole, Young Peter Hale, implied Derek Hale/Allison Argent - Freeform, poor laura
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-22
Updated: 2018-12-22
Packaged: 2019-09-24 14:05:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,966
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17102000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hisaribi/pseuds/hisaribi
Summary: Laura was bringing her fiance for the Christmas holidays, and Peter was petty enough to pay Stiles to play his boyfriend for the family meeting.





	Fake Christmas

**Author's Note:**

  * For [SnazzySterek](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SnazzySterek/gifts).



> heeey, so, Steter Secret Santa gift is here! I hope you would like it, even though it's a lowkey angst and no typical ending for fake dating fics!  
> The Hales are the farthest thing from a healthy family, just so you know, they all are awful human beings in this one. Stiles also isn’t a cute cinnamon roll who did nothing wrong and was fighting for the rights of abused family members, all are assholes! I wasn't sure what "Standing up to meddling family" meant, but I went for toxic family feels one, so yeah  
> Cutie [SpookyMiscreant](https://archiveofourown.org/users/SpookyMiscreant) gave it some beta-read! Thought because I turned in late we didn't have a chance to go through this completely, so yeah, sorry for mistakes!

Peter was annoyed, that’s for sure. He went to the library, feeling like he needed to hurry, but he forced himself to go on his usual speed because he was Peter Hale, damn it, he wasn’t going to look like he is about to lose his shit.

The worst thing probably was the fact that it was over almost nothing. His niece, who was an only year older than him, was bringing her fiance for the Christmas holidays, and she was going to be  _ insufferable. _

Not that Peter had to somehow prove himself or whatever, he was good with one-night stands and brief hookups at parties, but he knew Laura and he just knew she would show off the only guy who wasn’t smart enough to run away from her. Maybe he would’ve tried to steal him away from her, just like the younger, annoying (and perhaps prettier) younger nibling would, but he didn’t want some guy chasing after him.

Hence, going to the library and finding the group of smart-asses. They were called that because they were all relatively top-tier students, and Asses, either because they  _ had _ nice asses or  _ were _ assholes. They also already were associated with Peter, so he knew they wouldn’t really be surprised about what he was about to say.

“So, who of you, losers, wants to play my date for this Christmas?” Peter asked, turning the back of the chair to the table and sitting down like that.

“Are you going to pay for it?” Theo asked. He was the only one out of four people at the table who even acknowledged Peter sitting down.

Stiles was way too busy writing an essay, and he looked like he hadn’t slept for a few days. Lydia was going through a mean-looking book, which could probably kill just from things that were written inside, though she did raise an eyebrow. Kira was out of the question anyway, and Peter wasn’t really going to put a hand on her. Of course, they were all single for now, but Kira was the closest one to having ‘a significant other’.

“Sure, maybe even with money,” Peter huffed, and that made Kira smile a little.

“How many?” Stiles asked. So, he was listening to the conversation, despite wearing headphones. Figures.

“It’s how much, sweetheart,” Peter shrugged. “Whatever sum of money you want.”

“I was asking how many days.”

“Christmas, so it’s about...” Peter frowned and fished his phone to count days. “Three days at most. Though you will be fed, maybe even get a present or whatever.”

“A thousand and we have a deal,” Stiles said and finally looked up.

“Hey, I need this money!” Theo jokingly exclaimed.

“No you don’t, and it’ll be nice to have a thousand bucks just for me,” Stiles shrugged.

“I thought you would cost Peter much more,” Lydia mused, also showing she was listening to them.

“That sounded awfully ambiguous,” Kira sighed. Out of all them, she was the nicest, and sometimes Peter didn’t know what to make out of her presence here. Though, she fit in nicely anyway.

“Well I’m broke and wouldn’t be against this sugar daddy idea,” Stiles muttered. Everyone chuckled.

“I’ll rise it to two if you’ll make it look like you are the picture perfect boyfriend, and we have the wildest love.”

“I’m not having sex with you though,” Stiles said. “And also not pretending to feel the spirit of Christmas or whatever.”

“Well, but can we make sounds like that just so it would look like something was between us?” Peter asked with a smile.

“Well that we can do, and also hickeys are alright, but only if they are visible,” Stiles nodded.

“Then we have a deal.”

“Hey, maybe you guys are into polyamory?” Theo asked.

“Only in your kinky dreams,” Peter shrugged.

Actually, the idea wasn’t really bad, he could piss his sister off as well, but he wanted to piss Laura off, and not Talia. So that idea wasn’t really good.

“Ugh, rude,” Theo sighed. “Anyway, they are all downers, so are you going to the party tonight?”

“Which one?”

And just like that, the usual talk began, but this time Peter had a half-baked plan that was probably going to work. Stiles was handsome in a way that probably would look weird next to Laura’s knock-off Captain America fiance. He only needed to sleep and do something with his unruly hair, and also maybe some new clothes– 

Peter stopped that train of thought. Stiles wasn’t going to change anything in such a short period of time, also he would just flip Peter off if he was way too persistent.

 

The twelve hours ride was as uneventful as possible. They shared some things they were supposed to know about each other and quickly switched to their usual almost-banter. They knew about family, traditions, some small squeaks, and kinks, but it still felt a little bit impersonal even for Peter’s liking. Well, they knew each other for almost three years now, and neither really had any relationships for long enough time to really  _ know _ what they were supposed to do with a fake-date.

“Oh dude, for whatever reason I thought you would live in the middle of the woods,” Stiles said when they stopped in front of Hale house. It was a typical suburban house, so Peter just shrugged.

“We did, actually, but then Talia decided to sell our old house and moved here,” Peter didn’t even try to sound less bitter. He was still angry about it because he had had no say in the matter whatsoever. Of course, his part of the money from their parent’s house went to his education at uni anyway, and yet he still was annoyed.

“It looks like some kind of postcard picture-perfect house,” Stiles huffed.

“Yeah, just look at the other side of the road,” Peter chuckled. Stiles did look, and his mouth went agape. “That is the Argents’ house, and they have some kind of weird pissing contest with Talia. Like, who would decorate their house in a super extra way.”

“It’s soo crazy, dude,” Stiles muttered and shook his head.

“It is, but you better just tell Talia ours is better and Argents’ house fades away compared to our and so on,” Peter killed the engine. He actually needed some time to collect himself, before he made his way to the house.

It was a surprise when Stiles took his hand and gently patted it. He was still looking at the decorations with interest, but that move… well, Stiles certainly did know how to pretend to be a caring boyfriend. Peter noticed someone looking at them from the window, so he moved closer to Stiles and kissed him briefly.

They kissed before during one of the spin-the-bottle games at a party, so it didn’t feel too foreign. Not even weird, or like kissing a relative. It didn’t spark any sudden feelings or warmth though. When Peter moved away, Stiles moved forward, pecked at his lips once and turned away to grab his backpack from the rear seat, and whoever watched them closed the curtains way too fast.

Peter rolled his eyes and left the car. It was a bit colder in Beacon Hills compared to what he was used to. Maybe it was the chilling feeling of unpleasant anticipation before meeting his family once again. It wasn’t that his family was bad per se, Derek and Cora were pretty cool, yet he preferred to stay away as much as he could. He took his bag from the back seat when Stiles left the car and was looking at the weird creatures his sister insisted on. He wasn’t sure if they were supposed to be some kind of elves or something. They would follow him in nightmares for sure.

“This is why I’m sometimes happy we lived in a flat my whole life,” Stiles muttered softly when Peter stopped next to him.

“You were truly lucky,” Peter nodded and went to the door. Stiles followed right after him.

They were met by broody Derek and allowed inside. Derek eyed Stiles but left to run errands without a word. Cora was also at home, and Talia’s husband, Phillip. Nobody really said anything about or to Stiles, but Cora did ask for somebody to play with her and Stiles did. Well, Cora was Peter’s favorite anyway, so he was kind of happy.

“Talia went to meet Laura and Jordan at the airport,” Philip said, not really looking up from his book when Peter sat next to him. “Also Corrine is going to bring her whole family.”

“There’s going to be a lot of people here,” Peter shrugged. He was way too tired after the ride to really bother with family matters. “I hope me and Stiles won’t have to sleep with someone in one room.”

“You can always go to the motel,” Philip shrugged. “Not like you really want to be here anyway, right?”

“Well, that’s none of your business anyway, considering that at least one of Talia’s kids isn’t even yours,” Peter smiled almost kindly.

‘Home Sweet Home’, he thought derisively, Philip was usually collected and didn’t attack Peter, but, probably, something happened when Peter was away. He couldn’t always keep track of his family’s matters.

Philip threw him a heated look, which Peter simply ignored and went to join Cora and Stiles on the couch where they were playing some fighting game.

“You are rude, Dad didn’t do you anything bad,” Cora said as soon as Peter placed himself between Cora and Stiles, not bothering that he interrupted their match. This was also the other reason why he hated this house – everyone could hear everything all the time with how thin and weird walls were.

“Didn’t he,” Peter simply mused. Well, actually, he didn’t, not really, but they weren’t on friendly terms as well.

“Anyway, Mom was killing us these last few weeks,” Cora said, when she won one more round, Stiles huffed annoyed, but didn’t say anything, just placed himself all over Peter and gave him the gamepad.

“Slowly with poison, I hope?” Peter took the gamepad and chose the character.

“You wish. We had new neighbors moving in, and so she went into another baking contest with Mrs. Argent,” Cora winced. “Also,” she said in a hushed whisper. “I’m pretty sure Derek is dating Allison.”

“No way,” Peter exclaimed in a whisper as well. The match started.

“Who’s Allison?” Stiles asked also whispering.

“Mrs. Argent’s daughter,” Peter said softly. “She’s our age, and I thought she left Beacon Hills as soon as she graduated.”

“I have no idea, honestly. Ask Derek, if you aren’t afraid of him.”

“Why should I be afraid of Mr. Bunny teeth?” Peter asked, even though, well, Derek  _ was _ bigger than him and could probably hit him hard enough to break some bones.

“Well, you, probably, shouldn’t,” Cora shrugged.

They didn’t really have a chance to keep talking, because the front door opened.

“We are home!” Talia exclaimed, and Peter winced. Well, he didn’t really miss her voice, that’s for sure. Stiles looked toward the front door not really making a move to stand up, probably because Peter and Cora were way too busy with the game.

“Welcome back, Laura,” Phillip said, and probably there were more pleasantries thrown one way or another, but Peter decided to ignore it anyway.

“Woah, that dude does look like Captain America,” Stiles mused softly. Cora huffed, and Peter shrugged.

“I told you so,” he said under his breath.

“Stiles, if you can distract Peter, I’ll give you some nice sweets,” Cora said.

“Hey!” Peter exclaimed, they were toe-to-toe, so the game was heated. He felt Stiles moving a bit on his shoulder.

“Unsportsmanlike behavior? I approve,” Stiles chuckled and went for an actual kiss.

Peter heard a soft gasp behind and decided to ignore Cora, who happily announced her win. It was a lazy kiss, that probably would look like they were together long enough for it not to be hungry and passionate like any new couple would be.

“Now I want my sweets,” Stiles said into Peter’s lips, though it was addressed to Cora.

“Sure,” Cora stood up, smiling smugly. “Hey, Laura, Mr. Rogers,” she said as she ran to the kitchen. Well, it was a time to recognize the elephant in a room. He stood up, prompting Stiles to do it as well.

Laura looked like she was about to have a stroke, while her man, Jordan, looked almost sweetly lost. Well, the Hales were a lot to deal with sometimes. He didn’t see Talia or Phillip around, so it was even better.

“Laura, long time no see,” Peter smiled, not even pretending to be happy about seeing her.

“Peter,” she said shortly and looked at Stiles with a frown.

“This is my boyfriend Stiles,” Peter promptly said and put his hand on Stiles’ lower back.

“Hey, nice to meet you!” Stiles nodded.

“This is my  _ fiance _ Jordan Parrish,” Laura said and half-hugged the poor guy. Well, that’s why Peter loved Laura, she was so easy to irritate.

“Stiles is an unusual name,” Jordan said with an uncertain smile on his lips.

“Oh, that’s only a nickname, my actual name is too mouthy to pronounce,” Stiles waved his hands and leaned in Peter’s touch.

“Also the way it’s spelled is horrendous,” Peter nodded.

“Hey!” Stiles pushed him weakly.

“Easy, sweetheart,” Peter murmured to Stiles’ ear, perfectly aware of Laura’s glare.

“Oh, here are both of the love-birds!” Talia said, coming downstairs. “I need to go shopping for a while, do you, guys, need anything?” she also went to Peter and they hugged because they didn’t have a chance to do so before. She quickly looked Stiles over. “Huh, he doesn’t look like your type,” she bluntly said, and Peter could hear Cora snorting from the kitchen. Stiles’ lips tugged up amused.

“Well, there is a great mind under this mop of fluffy hair, and also he is really charismatic,” Peter shrugged, because, well, that was true. Stiles looked very unusual compared to who Peter preferred, but it actually made it more believable.

“Huh,” Talia said and smiled softly. “Well, that’s good. Well, I’m going shopping anyway, does anyone want to come with me?”

“We do,” Laura said quickly. “Jordan wanted to see all the attractions in Beacon Hills.”

Jordan winced a little, which meant he didn’t, not really.

“That’s great!” Talia nodded and looked at Peter and Stiles. “Do you guys want to go as well?”

“Ah, we would like to, but the car-ride tired us,” Peter said. He actually was way too tired to deal with them at the moment.

“But we planned to go tomorrow morning,” Stiles added. They didn’t really, but it sounded like a good idea.

“Ah, right, you drove all day in a car,” Talia nodded like she just remembered. “Well, you two should rest, and we should go!”

When Talia left with annoyed Laura and resigned Jordan in tow, Cora came back from the kitchen with a plate of cookies. Stiles made grabby hands.

“You’ll betray me for cookies if you’d have a chance, wouldn’t you?” Peter fondly sighed.

“Don’t act like you wouldn’t,” Stiles shrugged.

“You totally would,” Cora nodded and gave the plate to Stiles. “So, wanna play more?”

“I hate how you two clicked so well,” Peter sighed and sat on the couch. Cora smiled and sat next to him, and Stiles did as well.

“Well, shouldn’t you be happy, that two of your  _ favorite _ people get along so well?” Stiles asked sweetly, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

“Oh, am I your favorite?” Cora smiled, choosing a character.

“Not anymore, and I’m also thinking about breaking up with Stiles.”

“Mean,” Cora and Stiles said in sync. Peter sighed.

Well, it was actually kind of nice.

 

It was almost 10 pm when all family members came back. Derek was silent and stoic, ignored everyone, even though Cora noticed hickeys on his neck and announced it loudly. Philip, who went down to take something, looked very unphased by it.

Talia was still happy and lively, just like she wasn’t running around all day. Peter suspected she would be dead inside as soon as whole extended family members left. But for now, she wanted to be the best elder sister or whatever. Laura was trying to look like she was strong and not sleepy, but Peter knew all the subtle signs of her ‘really close to snap’ mood, and if he wasn’t tired, he would poke her. Jordan looked already dead inside, and he had so many bags, Peter pitied him.

Peter and Stiles were in the kitchen, discussing what kind of movie they wanted to watch today and what to do tomorrow. They decided to leave a house after they woke up to go on ‘a date’ to just be far away from younger relatives. Well, elder ones as well. Cora probably would’ve tried to go with them, and then snuck up to meet her friends.

“Do you need any help?” Stiles asked, but he was way too homey to leave the house now. Actually, Peter had a feeling Stiles asked it only because Jordan seemed like this type of guy, who would try and do everything by themselves.

“Ah, no, I got it,” Jordan answered on autopilot and put bags on the kitchen counter and left, probably to retrieve other bags.

Peter smirked, just like he thought. Talia was humming and unpacking bags. Laura sat next to Stiles, without care.

“We made so many photos at the town, it’s really pity you didn’t go with us,” she began with a smile.

“Oh, I bet these photos are really boring,” Peter smiled harshly. “He alone near this freaking statue of the town’s founder, and it’s probably too dark for it to be really visible, they didn’t spend a lot of money on illumination this year, you two on the same position...”

Laura glared at him, somehow he found strengths to be an unpleasant relative of the family. Talia didn’t even stop her humming.

“I bet you and Stiles don’t even have such photos at all.”

“We have photos of the different property,” Peter leaned in and almost whispered. “And also prefer to live in the moment and not to spend time on taking pictures.”

“But there is nothing wrong in wanting to take pictures,” Stiles added quickly and put his hands on Peter’s with a slight frown. “Would you like to show them to me?” he looked at Laura with almost honest interest, he could pull this off with his big doe eyes with ease. Well, Stiles did work well for all the money he was paid. Laura looked surprised.

Jordan came back with one more pack of bags. “I need to bring our bags as well,” he added, he didn’t even frown at Laura being so close to Stiles. “Where should I put it?”

“Oh, right,” Laura blinked and stood up like she was burned. “Let’s go. I’ll show pictures later,” she smiled at Stiles and left.

“I’ll be waiting for it,” Stiles waved at her and turned back to Peter. “What?” he probably had a weird look at his face.

“It’s nothing,” Peter shrugged. “I’ll probably go upstairs prepare the Netflix.”

“Yeah, I’ll call Dad and will join you,” Stiles waved his cellphone. Peter nodded and left.

 

Later he and Stiles were almost on the bed, Stiles was chill about sleeping together, but he needed some water next to him. Apparently, he woke up a lot during the night and wanted to drink. He took a water bottle and went downstairs.

Peter waited, mindlessly browsing the Internet. Nothing new or exciting came on his dash, everything was filled with Christmas, Christmas-hate, and kittens. For whatever reason kittens were always here, and they were the cutest distraction from this Holiday he could ever get. Aside from ones that were dressed as Santas or deer.

“I think Laura just tried to give me a shovel talk,” Stiles chuckled and closed the door. Peter looked up from his laptop and raised an eyebrow. Stiles sat on the bed next to Peter and leaned on him, looking at the screen.

“Did she promise to beat you if you hurt me?” Peter murmured and switched to the Netflix tab.

“She promised to beat you if you somehow hurt me. Also, she said you're into me only for sex, what a surprise, right? She looked soo scandalized when I said that I know that, and even out a bet on it. I guess he decided I’m a nice person, what a disappointment she’ll face.”

Peter hummed and turned the movie they decided to watch on. He was kind of surprised his family let them be alone at all, but it was for the best. He put the laptop on the bed table and went to sit further. Stiles sat next to him and began describing her face and how she opened her mouth a little at that.

Well, Stiles did learn something during creative writing classes he took this year after all. Peter also was ready to bet Stiles took acting classes as well, or he was naturally charismatic.

 

The morning was, well, loud for the lack of better word. Peter grumbled and tried to hide his face into Stiles’ back. Somewhere during the night they ended up spooning, Peter hugged Stiles from behind and somehow it was pretty comfortable.

Usually, Peter wasn’t a big fan of cuddling, it was hot and uncomfortable. With Stiles, it was somehow different, and his mind was way too sleepy to make a joke of it.

“I think your other older sister and her kids came,” Stiles murmured. “Why the hell does your family even have so many people?” he didn’t sound as sleepy as Peter felt, so he slowly raised himself. And, yep, Stiles was on his phone and looked like he woke up some time ago. Ugh.

“We have about thirteen family members every year,” Peter said, lazily putting his head on Stiles’ shoulder and looking at his phone screen. “And that’s only relatively close relatives. I have no idea why my sisters are so put on having kids at all, they seem to be really bothersome. And loud.”

“So...” Stiles mused and turned the screen off. “I can’t really count who and how many people are going to be here. Should I bother ‘bout it?”

“I don’t think so. Just be your charming self and don’t kill anyone. Today is going to suck the most, and tomorrow we’ll be off.”

“Should we wake up now or may we laze around a little?” Stiles asked and looked at Peter with half-closed eyes. He wasn’t allowed to look so good in the morning, but it was playing in handy.

“I doubt they’ll allow us,” Peter murmured.

Like this phrase was some kind of a trigger, the door opened, and two kids, cold from the street, screaming ‘uncle Peter!’ jumped right in the bad. Corrine, their mortified mother, walked next to them.

She probably heard all the rumors about Peter bringing his boyfriend, and decided her kids would be traumatized in case they had something. But they didn’t, Stiles only huffed, when Peter hugged kids and was speaking them off for being so cold.

“Good morning,” Stiles greeted Corrine and left the bad, it became way too lively here. Stiles wore a t-shirt and sweatpants, so he was almost modest. Peter on the other hand only wore pants, though he was under the cover anyway.

“Ah, yes, you must me Stiles,” Corrine half-smiled.

“Yes, it’s nice to meet you, Corrine,” Stiles nodded. They exchanged a few more courtesy, and Corrine left to take some bags from the car.

Peter was still busy with kids, who were telling him stories about their year when Stiles left for the bathroom. It was really a mystery how kids in this family loved Peter so much, somehow he was the coolest adult. It was an interesting feeling.

Malia, nine, and Liam, six, left when Corrine’s husband called them went downstairs to greet other relatives. They begrudgingly did, which Peter was grateful for. Stiles came back with a bit dump hairs.

“I met Jackson,” Stiles said with a huff. He closed the door, and Peter winced.

“I really hoped he would say something like ‘I’m too adult for your family shit’ and just stay home.”

“Well he was shooting daggers at me, I never felt so threatened in my life,” Stiles said that with an absolutely blank tone of voice, so Peter hummed. It was a touch of sarcasm, right. Jackson was only seventeen, and he was just overly spoiled brat, so usually, Peter wouldn’t even think about him twice.

“It makes eleven people, so who’s other two?” Stiles asked. “Or do I and Jordan count as well?”

“Ah, our mother should come, and also her brother. There may be a slight chance of some other relatives coming, but I really hope they won’t,” Peter sat and rubbed his face. He also needed a shower, so he left the room.

 

However Peter felt about his family and some really questionable decisions they made, he still loved them in a way. And he also still missed them, loved how loud they were and their attics were more enjoyable than he would ever tell any of them.

Laura trying to sell Jordan as someone perfect, and Stiles just being Stiles and stealing everything. He blended in just right. Not close enough to feel way too homey, but also not way too distant. He also was his own person, Peter never spoke over him, and rolled with any bullshit he thought of during the conversation about their relationships. It was fun even because Stiles managed to put their real history in a romantic way. 

For example, they met somewhere after their group of smart-asses was established by rumors and impressions. Fun fact: they didn’t know each other at first, but for whatever reason, everyone thought they did. So they were literally drawn to each other by the interest of who other ‘smart-asses’ were. Of course, it was about the group as a whole, but Stiles just stayed silent about other three in their relationships.

Or this one time when they accidentally met in the theme park. They literally only talked in the horror house queue, but somehow Stiles turned it into a story of how they went on a date here.

Peter was amused because he forgot some of the details.

As for Laura and Jordan, Peter honestly pitied the guy a little. He was talked over all the time and genuinely looked uncomfortable. Knowing Laura, Peter decided, she wouldn’t act like that if Stiles wasn’t with him, always leaning for the touch and just being next to Peter.

So, of course, Jackson was an asshole and decided to butt in. In Peter’s opinion, he was way too old for rebellious phase, but all he could do was to sigh exasperatedly.

“So why you two here, and not with your families?” He looked a bit smug and judging by heated stare Corrine threw at him, it was something they discussed.

“Jordan doesn’t have a family,” Laura deadpanned, and Jordan seemed like he was about to throw a tantrum. He threw her a heated glance and squished the fork. Yeet. Nothing is perfect in heaven.

“Well, we are happy to have you with us,” Talia smiled softly, probably trying to soften a blow. Laura looked a bit sheepish after that.

“Thank you very much, you are so kind,” Jordan said, he even tried to smile but it looked fake. The level of uncomfortable reached its peak, and it was only 10 am.

“And what about you?” Jackson didn’t know when to stop. He also looked at Peter, probably waiting for him to answer, and Peter held his stare calmly.

“Oh, my family don’t celebrate Christmas this way,” Stiles half-smiled.

“Why?” this time it was Malia who asked.

“Oh, was it Hanukkah then?” Talia asked as well. Peter could see the worry behind her eyes, that they didn’t greet him accordingly or whatever.

“Ah, no, I’m Orthodox,” Stiles smiled. “My mom was a hardcore one, so she was even angry when we tried to celebrate it the same way other families did,” he looked almost shy and uncomfortable. Peter didn’t actually know this detail, he always thought Stiles was an agnostic or whatever.

“Oh,” Talia said, also looking lost.

“That’s ok,” Stiles hurried to add. “That’s just the reason I’m spending time with you all, that’s a really good chance to meet you and got to know people who managed to deal with Peter for this long,” there was probably an insult somewhere, and Peter huffed.

Jackson looked like he already got his presents when Corrine like Jackson was getting nothing.

“Anyway, this wolf decoration next to the garage looks handmade,” Stiles switched a topic. “Is it really handmade?”

Talia looked surprised and pleased at the same time. “At least someone noticed. You have a keen eye,” she smiled softly and began telling a story Peter had never bothered to ask before.

Laura was frowning, probably because Talia was truly pleased to tell about it. Peter was ready to bet Jordan just said it was good. Overall, the breakfast was decent.

 

They managed to escape the house and simply went to the cinema. It was packed, but it was still better this way, and also they bought tickets yesterday. Cora tried to leave with them but was caught by Talia, but they also had to take Laura and Jordan.

They didn’t talk, and Stiles asked to show him yesterday photos anyway, even though Laura seemed like even she forgot about it.

“They feel soft,” Stiles said when Laura finished the show. “You two seem really happy.”

It was so sappy, Peter felt the urge to gag. Stiles wasn’t the one to ridicule others when he didn’t hate them, and now he was even paid to be nice, but the way he smiled crawled under Peter’s skin with its wrongness. It wasn’t the Stiles he knew, it wasn’t the Stiles he spent this night with, and it was irritating.

“We are,” Laura said, and Jordan huffed. He caught himself, but it was too late because Laura noticed. Stiles quickly moved back to sit on his place next to Peter, an impish look in his eyes.

Oh well, he was a really good actor, that was the fact. He heard Laura and Jordan bantering, and suppressed a smile. Yes, it was true, he didn’t mean to become a reason for Laura’s break up, but, frankly speaking, she was the responsible one anyway.

And if he or Stiles pushed some buttons a little bit, well, it wasn’t like anyone noticed.

 

When they met again a few hours later, Laura had red eyes, and Jordan was more stoic than ever. Neither Peter nor Stiles commented on it, and the latter chatted away about all and nothing, not really looking like he was hurt by the silence. Jordan looked like he was ready to snap and ask him to shut up a few times, but he didn’t. Probably, too polite or whatever.

Back at home, it was lively, and they were quickly pulled in all the commotion. Peter managed to escape with Derek, but it seemed that Stiles was caught in with the food preparation. Honestly, before this whole thing he didn’t even think this guy was capable of preparing anything other than instant-noodles, but well, he turned out to be great boyfriend material.

He was outside with Derek and looked in wonder at the decoration of a wolf. He didn’t really pay attention to it earlier, he just took it for granted in a way. And it wasn’t anything special as far as Peter could tell, and he wondered how Stiles even noticed this thing when he only looked at it once.

“This wolf looks ordinary for me,” Derek said like he red Peter’s thoughts.

“Yeah, but it seems really dear for your mother,” Peter mused. “Well, we need to go back, you need to stop ogling Allison before Chris noticed you.”

Derek blushed, but he would say that it was only the cold, of course.

 

The dinner was almost uneventful, it was mild, for the lack of better word. Laura and Jordan were quiet. Stiles wasn’t overly loud and mostly clung in a nice not-annoying way to Peter. Jackson seemed to be pissed at the world, and Cora was teasing him. Malia and Liam were mostly bored.

Talia, Philip, Corrine and her husband kind of retaliated to the kitchen as soon as everyone finished with dinner. They were probably going to drink and have ‘adult talks’. Derek escaped and, as Peter saw, Allison run from her house as well. Well, this story was about to end badly. Thankfully, Jackson hid upstairs, probably to bitch in his Instagram account.

Peter didn’t feel like leaving upstairs or leaving at all, so he and Stiles ended up on the movie night. They were at a couch with Liam lying on Stiles, and Malia next to Peter. Cora was on the floor. Laura and Jordan were on the armchair, well, Laura was on it, and Jordan sat next to her. They still didn’t talk much, and Peter was kind of waiting for them to just say they broke up.

It was actually homey, and calm for the first time in a while. Peter put his hand around Stiles’ shoulder and softly kissed his temple. It was easy to forget that as soon as they left Beacon Hills this magic would disappear. Peter wasn’t sure how to place this cold feeling that grew inside.

Stiles sat Liam on his tights and cuddled closer to Peter. He sighed and licked his lips. Well, it was going to be over in a day anyway. Though he would have a hard time dealing with normal Stiles on a daily basis for sure.

Somewhere during the movie, Laura left the room, probably to join ‘adults’ in the kitchen. Peter had an off-hand desire to go to them and get a bear or at least a wine but decided not to. Stiles was comfortable on his shoulder, half-asleep. It was already late and probably he was supposed to hush younger upstairs, it was a responsible thing to do, but this homey feeling was creating a really nice illusion of a normal family.

 

Peter was jolted awake by Corrine taking Malia from him. Stiles was softly snoring on his shoulder, hugging Liam. Cora and Jordan were nowhere to be seen, probably already left.

“Sorry,” Corrine murmured. She was vaguely smelling of the alcohol “You should probably go back to your room as well.”

“Yeah, we’ll get Liam to you as well,” Peter whispered as well. Corrine nodded and left with Malia who pretended to be asleep. Well, she did a great job.

Peter was still hugging Stiles, so he softly shook him. Stiles twitched and opened his eyes. “Mhm? Wha?”

“We need to go to bed. Take Liam to Corrine,” Peter whispered.

“M’kay,” Stiles yawned, took Liam and went upstairs, whispering something sleepily to Liam.

Peter turned the tv off and went to the kitchen to take some water for Stiles. Laura was here, lulling the glass. He rubbed his face. Well, it seemed they won’t be having a spring wedding.

“Stiles is good. Too bad he fell for you,” Laura mused.

“We deserve each other,” Peter huffed, took the bottle of water and left.

Stiles already changed his clothes to PJs and was staring at the wall almost like he was lost in thoughts. Peter closed the door and put the water to Stiles’ side.

“I think the kid is going to be heartbroken when I won’t come next year,” Stiles whispered after Peter undressed and got to the bed. “I feel a bit bad.”

“I didn’t know you love children,” Peter said and prompted Stiles to lie next to him.

“Well, I want to have my kids own one day,” Stiles lied down and covered them with the blanket. “Just probably not until I’m almost in my thirties.”

Peter hummed and hugged Stiles from behind. They didn’t say anything for a while, but Peter could feel Stiles wasn’t asleep yet.

“It seems like Laura and Jordan broke up,” he said softly. “I honestly only wanted to tease them a little.”

“You sound awfully lot like you are making excuses, stop it. I won’t judge you,” Stiles muttered. “I actually think it’s good they broke up now, Laura was way too controlling, and Jordan too laid back for it to be really happy relationships.”

Peter hummed again and fell silent. Stiles was right, if they broke up over small Holiday time with a family, it just meant they weren’t destined to be. Or, at least, they needed some time and pulling their shit together. Well, that wasn’t Peter’s problem anyway, so he snuggled to Stiles and closed his eyes. It was always easy for him to fall asleep.

 

The morning was loud as well. Peter heard Liam and Malia screaming downstairs, probably, happy about presents. It was up to Philip this year to put them all under a Christmas tree, and Peter hoped to avoid this kind of responsibility his whole life.

“I hope they won’t run here to scream,” Stiles begrudgingly muttered and rubbed his face.

“What, don’t want to have children anymore?” Peter chuckled and sat down.

“I’m not celebrating Christmas with them anyway,” Stiles shrugged. “Or maybe I will, idk.”

“You was deprived of such happiness as a child, don’t you want to give a celebration for this poor thing at least?” Peter half-teased.

“Nope, my kids are so going to suffer from all the childhood traumas I have,” Stiles answered, the tone of voice way too light to not be truthful. He sat down as well.

“Poor thing,” Peter huffed and stood up. He needed some shower to have strengths to deal with all his relatives this early in the morning. Coffee would also be great if he was completely honest, but he doubted there even was a decent one in Beacon Hills.

 

The exchange of presents probably shouldn’t be that awkward, and most people acted like it wasn’t. Laura and Jordan were smiling and nice but didn’t really touch each other. Some presents were to them as a pair, and, well, it was pitiful even in a way.

Peter and Stiles also got some presents as a pair, but it seemed like it was mostly for Peter anyway. They didn’t have a problem with that, because they decided beforehand, all Peter’s presents are Peter’s, and Stiles is to only keep postcards and some small things, that were given directly to him.

When the family was getting ready to go to the town for shopping or any attractions, Peter and Stiles were about to leave. Peter had enough of his family already, and he had a feeling that if he went with them now, he would end up with either Derek, who just wanted to run away, Laura and Jordan, both kind of down and no-fun at all. There was a slight chance they would end up babysitting Malia and Liam, or worse, Jackson and Cora, and Peter didn’t want to deal with them.

Talia wasn’t surprised, she even seemed a bit relieved that they decided to leave early. Though she was truly a fan of Stiles, there was Peter factor in play, and in Talia’s mind, he was a wild card.

Plus there was a chance Argents were going to meet them as well, and everybody remembered when young and reckless Peter almost seduced Chris just because he could. That would be an unpleasant meeting for all sides.

So they were leaving. A lot of hugs were exchanged, and Liam seemed really sad about them leaving. Though Peter guessed the kid would be alright in a few hours after he ate some ice-cream. Stiles looked like he was also about to cry. He even exchanges contacts with Cora, probably it was somehow connected to the MMO they discussed, Peter wasn’t really listening.

Though, as soon as they were back in the car, Stiles lost this whole sad and ‘we’ll meet again’ kind of look and became bored at best.

“You should really give acting a shot,” Peter huffed, leaving ‘you are leaving Beacon Hills now’ plate behind.

“I did in a high school, but it became boring pretty quickly,” Stiles shrugged. “I did good, didn’t I?”

“Yeah, and I’ll pay you two,” Peter nodded without hesitation. “Don’t discuss me with Cora though.”

“I wasn’t going to,” Stiles shrugged. “Anyway, for New Year I won’t be available, in case you wanted to meet them again.”

“Well, I didn’t want to, but I wonder why?”

“I’m spending it with my dad,” Stiles answered quickly with a soft reserved smile on his lips. “Also, keep me updated if Laura and Jordan would completely break up, maybe without any juicy details. I grew to worry about their relationships more than about my nonexistent ones,” Stiles chuckled.

“I will,” Peter huffed.

And just like that this they switched back to how they were before, talking about everything and nothing at the same time, once again, nothing really personal.

Of course, Stiles was only interested in money, and he was explicitly clear about not wanting relationships with people. Honestly, Peter didn’t feel like he wanted any constant romantic partner either. He was a man enough to recognize this tugging feeling like some sort of love, and he also knew they both didn’t want it to become anything.

It was just a whim, alright.

**Author's Note:**

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